Theismann says passing football is "not Baltimore Ravens football"

NFL Network analyst puzzled by Ravens' play-calling

A good number of Ravens fans are unhappy with and/or puzzled by the offense’s run-pass ratio in the team’s 22-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks Sunday and through the first nine games of the season.

Count Joe Theismann as a member of the “puzzled” club.

The current NFL Network analyst and former Washington Redskins quarterback said asking quarterback Joe Flacco to throw the ball a career-high 52 times and giving running back Ray Rice just five carries Sunday doesn’t fit with what he perceives as the identity of the Ravens offense.

“It’s not Baltimore Ravens football,” Theismann said. “The Baltimore Ravens are, in my opinion, most effective offensively when they have a running game to be able to work off of. I think just dropping Joe Flacco in the pocket 50 times is not what the Ravens are all about. First of all, if there’s a lot of incompletions or dropped balls or sacks, you’re putting your defense out on that field for a long, long time. It shouldn’t be that way. When I look at the talent at the offensive side of the ball, this should be a very balanced offense. It should be an offense that has the ability to run the football and then use your play-action and then move Joe around and drop him back and take your shots down the field. Let [wide receiver] Anquan [Boldin] keep the chains moving, use your tight ends, pick up first downs. That’s the way I see the Baltimore Ravens offense. I don’t see them like New England where you’re going to throw the ball 65 percent of the time and run it 35 percent.”